Nixon signs Greene County 911 board fix

The Greene County 911 Board will remain an appointed board, under legislation signed today by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Nixon signed Senate Bill 690, which was sponsored by Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa. Confusion had previously existed over whether the board, which oversees the county's 911 service, was its own political entity.

The confusion arose a few years ago when an attorney general's opinion found that 911 boards are a separate political entity. The General Assembly, in response, passed legislation to combat that ruling, Wasson said at a hearing in February.

"The problem the Greene County 911 board has is there are now two separate statutes out there that kind of say two separate things and they're not exactly sure where they're under," Wasson said.

Currently, the board is made up of members appointed by the county, cities in the county, fire districts and citizen and business representatives. If action had not been taken, members would eventually have to be elected.

The bill was not controversial and passed by wide margins in both the House and Senate.

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